Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) will manage incumbent retention for House Democrats in 2010, in what is expected to be a key test for the party to hold on to dozens of seats in traditionally Republican districts.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Monday that Wasserman Schultz would serve as one of the committee’s three vice chairmen, the remaining two of which will be named at a later date.

Wasserman Schultz ran the DCCC’s 2008 “Frontline” program for vulnerable Members. In 2006 and 2008, the Florida Democrat managed the committee’s “Red to Blue” program intended for promising challengers in Republican districts.

“The DCCC is focused on preserving our gains this cycle,” Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said in a statement. “Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s battle tested leadership will be a real asset to our Members facing tough re-elections.”

Freedom’s Watch Will Disband at Year’s End

Freedom’s Watch, the conservative issue advocacy group that came into the national political arena like a lion in 2007, is going out like a lamb at the end of 2008.

The Washington Times and Politicker.com reported Monday that the group would shut its doors at the end of the year.

Freedom’s Watch, funded mostly by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, burst on the scene poised to be the conservatives’ answer to the liberal group MoveOn.org. It attracted top conservative talent, including former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, and began spending freely on ads in support of the Iraq War surge.

Democrats warned that Freedom’s Watch could drop millions trying to influence key House and Senate races. But while the group did get involved in as many as a dozen contests, it never emptied the vault the way Democrats feared.